Best way to ship diamonds/expensive jewelry?

[BeaudryBabe]

Hello All!

What is the best way to ship diamonds and/or expensive jewelry? Fed ex, UPS, registered mail? I have to ship a few pieces and am unsure of the best way to proceed.

THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP!

 

[JohnQuixote]

For individuals we recommend United States Postal Service Registered/Insured.

We use Fed Ex as our outbound carrier because we purchase third-party insurance, but Fed Ex does not commonly provide necessary insurance for individuals, so we we always have clients return things to us USPS R/I.

 

[Mara]

I don't like USPS Registered Insured becuase it takes forever and I freak out the whole time. I'm just a nut. Anyway, if the value is under $1200 and it's a jewelry item (not loose diamond) then you can send it USPS Priority 2-3 day and insure it for $1200 which is their max. This is the way I send smaller items. For me Registered Insured takes almost 5-7 days to travel across the US...which is an additional 3-5 days I have for freaking out.

 

[YoungPapa]

BeaudryBabe,

Just to add to John, USPS Registered Mail is not only the safest, but cheapest method.

Shipping a $5,000 diamond ring through UPS with insurance might cost you as much as $60. USPS Registered is about $10.

USPS is slow if you''re shipping cross country, but for relatively "local" packages (say less than 1,000 miles) we''ve seen things take as little as 2-4 days...

 

[Richard Sherwood]

You've also got the two (more expensive) options of shipping overnite via USPS or UPS.

USPS will insure an overnite box up to $5,000 while UPS will cover up to $50,000.

 

[Maya Moonstone]

Hi

I have recently shipped two diamonds and used USPS Registered Mail both times. Both packages was less than 13oz - I packed the diamonds in a zip lock bag, into an envelope, into another smaller box and in a bigger box. ( I am fromSouth Africa where the postal services can not be trusted and I wanted to make sure if someone tried to peak, they wont see or get anything)

The first diamond I shipped from Seattle to Houston. I was at the post office early Friday morning. The diamond arrived in Houston on Monday afternoon.

The second diamond I shipped from Seattle - where we live - to New York on a Saturday morning. It arrived in New York on Tuesday.

For me it was really fast - and since registered mail has insurance up to $25k it was the best value - both times cost less than $30. The appraiser also recommended the USPS registered mail service. He mentioned something about Fedex having a compliacted insurance system and being very difficult.

I would caution you though to make sure that you have an appraisal of the jewelry you ship, no matter what kind of shipping you use. Because if in the unlikely event it gets lost, you want proof of how much it was worth. I got a full appraisal of the second diamond I shipped, because I bought it and send it to NY to be set. The first diamond was insured according to the vendors request. since I returned it

Maya

 

[kenny]

USPS Registerd Insured has a reputation for being reliable and inexpensive but very slow.

You can also add the Express service to the Registered Insured parcel for a small fee.
It is not overnight (Registered Priority is not possible) but Registered Express is.
I think it is 3 business days in USA.

I also like to add the Return Receipt Requested.
It is nice to get that postcard back signed by whomever accepted the package.
Also a nominal fee.

 

[fountainfairfax]

The jeweler/artist designing my ring said that Jewelers Mutual prefers Registered Mail, so that''s how I sent my loose stone, a sample ring for size and (just to really tempt fate) I included $500 cash- yes, I''m an idiot but since I was already sending a diamond worth $7,500 what was a few more $$?

My exprience ended up fine but was a nail-biter:

1) make sure that the box you''re sending is larger than the green registered mail card- if not it will need to be re-packaged. My box was too small so it had to be opened & repackaged.
2) make sure that the insured value is written very clearly and that you bring the insured amount to the employee''s attention. I wrote $8,000 because of the cash- the employee billed me for $3,000 and it wasn''t evident until she handed me the receipt!
3) show up wayyyy before closing time- yes they had to repackage it, but it took over a half-hour to get the whole thing done- maybe because it gets locked up ASAP and someone from the back had to come & take receipt of it.
4) because registered mail is locked up & secured at every step of delivery they do not offer real-time tracking- my package didn''t even register as being shipped until 24 hours after and was never scanned anywhere until it was received!
5) from NY to California it took 5 business days- a long time to wait.

Good luck with whatever you choose- I''m curious to see how my finished ring gets shipped back to us!

 

[BeaudryBabe]

Thanks for the great advise. I have shipped via insured registered mail. The charge was very reasonable.

THANKS AGAIN,

BB